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Operations Assessment & Strategic Business Planning

CITY OF PLANO ARTS AND EVENTS DIVISION

Plano, Texas, USA

For over twenty years, the City of Plano had made significant investments in providing public access to high-quality and diverse cultural experiences that include performance art, visual fine art, community celebrations, and commercial entertainment.

The Arts & Events Division that managed these cultural arts facilities and produced the city’s large-scale festivals was struggling to keep up with their ever-changing duties and ad-hoc responsibilities. It was clear that their organization, after operating for twenty years without a strategic growth plan, was in dire need of recalibration. Their commitment to “making things happen” was a magnet for increased responsibilities and scope. But growing out of necessity rather than intentionality left the Division vulnerable to reactionary management practices and no strategy for scaling in the future.

TheatreDNA conducted numerous interviews with the Division’s staff and city leadership and reviewed all of their operational documentation. The findings revealed an organization that was in desperate need of restructuring to be able to handle their core lines of business which included venue management, special events and community engagement, and cultural arts programming. And they also needed the permission to remove areas of responsibilities that did not fit within those core segments, like overseeing the citywide volunteer program.

The restructuring strategy was well received and adopted because it did not increase headcount, and it allowed the Division to properly operate at scale and with focus.

COMPLETION

2022

OWNER

City of Plano

ARCHITECT

None

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